U.S. patent application number 14/267303 was filed with the patent office on 2014-08-21 for methods of forming through silicon via openings.
The applicant listed for this patent is TSMC Solid State Lighting Ltd.. Invention is credited to Chun-Lin Chang, Chyi Shyuan Chern, Hsing-Kuo Hsia, Hung-Yi Kuo, Hsin-Hsien Wu.
Application Number | 20140235053 14/267303 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46993302 |
Filed Date | 2014-08-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140235053 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chern; Chyi Shyuan ; et
al. |
August 21, 2014 |
Methods of Forming Through Silicon Via Openings
Abstract
A method of forming a through-silicon-via (TSV) opening includes
forming a TSV opening through a substrate. A recast of a material
of the substrate on sidewalls of the TSV opening is removed with a
first chemical. The sidewalls of the TSV opening are cleaned with a
second chemical by substantially removing a residue of the first
chemical.
Inventors: |
Chern; Chyi Shyuan; (Taipei,
TW) ; Wu; Hsin-Hsien; (Hsinchu City, TW) ;
Chang; Chun-Lin; (Jhubei City, TW) ; Hsia;
Hsing-Kuo; (Jhubei City, TW) ; Kuo; Hung-Yi;
(Taipei City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
TSMC Solid State Lighting Ltd. |
Hsinchu |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
46993302 |
Appl. No.: |
14/267303 |
Filed: |
May 1, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13086542 |
Apr 14, 2011 |
8716128 |
|
|
14267303 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
438/667 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 21/02057 20130101;
H01L 21/76898 20130101; H01L 21/3065 20130101; H01L 21/76801
20130101; H01L 21/76814 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
438/667 |
International
Class: |
H01L 21/768 20060101
H01L021/768 |
Claims
1. A method, comprising: forming an opening in a substrate, the
opening completely extending through the substrate, wherein a
recast material is formed on sidewalls of the substrate exposed by
the opening; applying a first chemical in the opening to remove the
recast material, wherein a residue of the first chemical remains on
portions of the sidewalls after the applying of the first chemical;
and applying a second chemical in the opening to remove the residue
of the first chemical, the second chemical being different from the
first chemical.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming of the opening
comprises laser drilling the opening through the substrate.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein: the substrate contains silicon;
and the recast material is formed by melting the silicon through
the laser drilling and cooling the melted silicon.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sidewalls of opening is
formed in a manner such that they are roughened or have an
hourglass shape.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first chemical contains a
material that activates the recast material.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the material of the first
chemical includes halogen.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein the second chemical contains: a
first component that is substantially inactive with the substrate;
and a second component that is substantially active with the
material of the first chemical.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein: the first component is selected
from the group consisting of helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon,
and radon; and the second component comprises hydride.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming of the opening and
the applying of the first chemical are performed
simultaneously.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: forming a
water-soluble layer over the substrate before the forming of the
opening; and removing the water-soluble layer with deionized water
after the forming of the opening.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: forming a conductive
structure in the opening after the applying of the second
chemical.
12. A method, comprising: providing a substrate having a first side
and a second side opposite the first side; performing a laser
ablating process to form an opening that extends from the first
side of the substrate to the second side of the substrate, wherein
the laser ablation process melts portions of the substrate, thereby
leaving a recast material in the opening; removing the recast
material with a first chemical, wherein the removing of the recast
material leaves a residue of the first chemical in the opening; and
removing the residue of the first chemical with a second chemical
different from the first chemical.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein: the first chemical contains
halogen; and second chemical contains: a first component that is
substantially inactive with the substrate; and a second component
that is substantially active with halogen.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein: the first component is
selected from the group consisting of helium, neon, argon, krypton,
xenon, and radon; and the second component comprises hydride.
15. The method of claim 12, wherein the removing of the recast
material is performed while the laser ablation process is being
performed.
16. The method of claim 12, wherein the opening is formed such that
the recast material contributes to an hourglass shape of the
opening.
17. The method of claim 12, further comprising: forming a
water-soluble layer over the substrate before the performing of the
laser ablation process; and removing the water-soluble layer with
deionized water after the performing of the laser ablation
process.
18. The method of claim 12, further comprising: forming a
through-silicon-via in the opening after the removing of the
residue.
19. A method, comprising: forming a through-silicon-via (TSV)
opening in a silicon substrate through a laser process that melts
the silicon of the silicon substrate, wherein the melted silicon
adheres to a sidewall of the TSV opening after being cooled,
thereby giving the TSV opening at least one of: an hourglass shape
and roughened sidewall surfaces; removing the melted silicon using
a halogen-containing first chemical, wherein the halogen-containing
first chemical leaves a residue in the TSV opening; removing the
residue of the halogen-containing first chemical with a second
chemical, the second chemical containing: a first component that is
substantially inactive with the silicon substrate; and a second
component that is substantially active with halogen; and thereafter
forming a conductive material in the TSV opening.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein: the first component is
selected from the group consisting of helium, neon, argon, krypton,
xenon, and radon; and the second component comprises hydride.
Description
PRIORITY DATA
[0001] The present application is a continuation application of
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/086,542, filed on Apr. 14,
2011, entitled "Methods of Forming Through Silicon Via Openings"
now U.S. Pat. No. 8,716,128 issued May 6, 2014, the disclosure of
which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of
semiconductor and, more particularly, to methods of forming through
silicon via openings.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Since the invention of the integrated circuit, the
semiconductor industry has experienced continual growth due to
continuous improvements in the integration density of various
electronic components (i.e., transistors, diodes, resistors,
capacitors, etc.). For the most part, this improvement in
integration density has come from repeated reductions in minimum
feature size, allowing for the integration of more components into
a given area.
[0004] These integration improvements are essentially
two-dimensional (2D) in nature, in that the volume occupied by the
integrated components is essentially on the surface of the
semiconductor wafer. Although dramatic improvements in lithography
have resulted in considerable improvements in 2D integrated circuit
formation, there are physical limits to the density that can be
achieved in two dimensions. One of these limits is the minimum size
needed to make these components. Also, when more devices are put
into one chip, more complex designs are required.
[0005] Three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D IC) are therefore
created to resolve the above-discussed limitations. In a
conventional formation process of 3D IC, two wafers, each including
an integrated circuit, are formed, The wafers are then bonded with
the devices aligned. Deep vias are then formed to interconnect
devices on the first and second wafers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The present disclosure is understood from the following
detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is
noted that, in accordance with the standard practice in the
industry, various features are not drawn to scale and are used for
illustration purposes only. In fact, the numbers and dimensions of
the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for
clarity of discussion.
[0007] FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an exemplary method of forming a
through-silicon-via (TSV) opening through a substrate,
[0008] FIGS. 2A-2D are schematic cross-sectional views of forming a
TSV opening in an integrated circuit during various fabrication
stages.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] A method known to the applicants for forming TSV openings
for 3D IC uses silicon hexafluoride ions (SiF.sub.6.sup.2-) as an
etching agent. It is found that the etching process results in the
presence of scallops on sidewalls of the TSV openings. The step
coverage of a liner or barrier/seed layer that is deposited on the
scallop sidewalls of the TSV openings is impaired. The poor step
coverage of the liner or barrier/seed layer damages electrical
characteristics of conductive structures formed in the TSV
openings.
[0010] Another method known to the applicants uses a laser ablation
to remove silicon material of a silicon substrate, forming the TSV
opening. However, it is found that the silicon particles and/or
debris fall on the surface and sidewalls of the TSV openings,
resulting in scallop-like roughened sidewall surfaces.
[0011] It is understood that the following disclosure provides many
different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different
features of the disclosure. Specific examples of components and
arrangements are described below to simplify the present
disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not
intended to be limiting. In addition, the present disclosure may
repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples.
This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and
does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various
embodiments and/or configurations discussed. Moreover, the
formation of a feature on, connected to, and/or coupled to another
feature in the present disclosure that follows may include
embodiments in which the features are formed in direct contact, and
may also include embodiments in which additional features may be
formed interposing the features, such that the features may not be
in direct contact. In addition, spatially relative terms, for
example, "lower," "upper," "horizontal," "vertical," "above,"
"below," "up," "down," "top," "bottom," etc. as well as derivatives
thereof (e.g., "horizontally," "downwardly," "upwardly," etc.) are
used for ease of the present disclosure of one features
relationship to another feature. The spatially relative terms are
intended to cover different orientations of the device including
the features.
[0012] FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an exemplary method of forming a
through-silicon-via (TSV) opening through a substrate. FIGS. 2A-2D
are schematic cross-sectional views of forming a TSV opening in an
integrated circuit during various fabrication stages. It is
understood that FIGS. 1 and 2A-2D have been simplified for a better
understanding of the concepts of the present disclosure.
Accordingly, it should he noted that additional processes may be
provided before, during, and after the methods of FIGS. 1 and
2A-2D, and that some other processes may only be briefly described
herein.
[0013] Referring now to FIG. 1, the method 100 can include forming
a TSV opening through a substrate (block 110). The method 100 can
include removing a recast of a material of the substrate on the
sidewalk of the TSV opening with a first chemical (block 120). The
method 100 can also include cleaning the sidewalls of the TSV
opening with a second chemical by substantially removing a residual
of the first chemical (block 130).
[0014] For example, an integrated circuit 200 can include a
substrate 201 as shown in FIG. 2A. In some embodiments, the
integrated circuit 200 may include various passive and active
microelectronic devices (not shown), such as resistors, capacitors,
inductors, diodes, metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect
transistors (MOSFETs), complementary MOS (CMOS) transistors,
bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), laterally diffused MOS (LDMOS)
transistors, high power MOS transistors, FinFET transistors, other
types of transistors, and/or any combinations thereof. In other
embodiments, the integrated circuit 200 is used for light emitting
diodes (LEDs).
[0015] In some embodiments, the substrate 201 may include an
elementary semiconductor including silicon or germanium in crystal,
polycrystalline, or an amorphous structure; a compound
semiconductor including silicon carbide, gallium arsenic, gallium
phosphide, indium phosphide, indium arsenide, and/or indium
antimonide; an alloy semiconductor including SiGe, GaAsP, AlInAs,
AlGaAs, GaInAs, GaInP, and/or GaInAsP; any other suitable material;
or combinations thereof. In at least one embodiment, the alloy
semiconductor substrate may have a gradient SiGe feature in which
the Si and Ge composition change from one ratio at one location to
another ratio at another location of the gradient SiGe feature. In
another embodiment, the alloy SiGe is formed over a silicon
substrate. In another embodiment, a SiGe substrate is strained.
Furthermore, the semiconductor substrate may be a semiconductor on
insulator, such as a silicon on insulator (SOI), or a thin film
transistor (TFT). In some examples, the semiconductor substrate may
include a doped epitaxial (epi) layer or a buried layer. In other
examples, the compound semiconductor substrate may have a
multilayer structure, or the substrate may include a multilayer
compound semiconductor structure.
[0016] Referring to FIG. 2A, in some embodiments a dielectric layer
205 can be formed over a surface 201a of the substrate 201. In
other embodiments, a dielectric layer 203 can be formed adjacent to
another surface 201b of the substrate 201. The dielectric layers
203 and 205 can each include at least one material, such as silicon
oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, silicon carbide,
silicon oxycarbide, silicon oxynitride carbide, other dielectric
materials and/or any combinations thereof. The dielectric layers
205 and 203 can protect the surfaces 201a and 201b, respectively,
from being activated by a chemical during a removal process 220
described below in conjunction with FIG. 2C.
[0017] In some embodiments, the method 100 can optionally include
coating a water soluble layer (not shown) over each of the
dielectric layers 203 and/or 205. The water soluble layer is
provided to prevent particles generated from a drilling process
described below in conjunction with FIG. 2B falling on the
dielectric layers 203 and 205.
[0018] Referring to FIG. 2B, the method 100 can form a TSV opening
215 through the substrate 201. In some embodiments including the
dielectric layers 203 and/or 205, the TSV opening 215 is also
formed through the dielectric layers 203 and/or 205. The TSV
opening 215 can be formed by, for example, a laser drilling, a
mechanical drilling, a chemical etching process, or any other
drilling processes. In some embodiments forming the TSV opening 215
by a laser drilling 210, the laser drilling 210 can use a laser
having a wavelength of about 355 nanometer (nm) or less. The laser
source can be a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG)
laser source. The source power of the laser drilling 210 can be
about 10.8 Watts or more. The laser drilling 210 can have a
repetition rate of about 100 KHz and a pulse duration ranging from
about 20 ns to about 75 ns. In some embodiments, the laser drilling
210 can be referred to as a laser ablation.
[0019] In some embodiments forming the TSV opening 215 by the laser
drilling 210, a recast 213 can be formed on each sidewall of the
TSV opening 215 as shown in FIG. 2B. During the laser drilling 210,
the energy of the laser melts the material, e.g., silicon, of the
substrate 201. The melted silicon is then cooled down, transforming
into the amorphous silicon recasts 213. The TSV opening 215 having
the recasts 213 on the sidewalls may cause an hourglass shape
and/or rough sidewall surfaces.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 2C, the method 100 can include a removal
process 220 to remove the recasts 213 of the material of the
substrate 201 on the sidewalls of the TSV opening 215 with a
chemical. In some embodiments, the chemical can comprise a
halogen-containing chemical, e.g., xenon difluoride (XeF.sub.2),
sulfur tetrafluoride sulfur hexafluoride (SF.sub.6), other
halogen-containing chemicals, and/or any combinations thereof. The
halogen-containing chemical is provided to activate the recast 213
so as to substantially remove the recast 213 to smoothen the
sidewalls 215a of the TSV opening 215. in some embodiments using
XeF.sub.2, the removal process 220 can have a flow rate of about 22
standard cubic centimeter per minute (sccm), a processing time of
about 120 seconds or more, and a processing temperature of about
35.degree.C. or more.
[0021] Though showing that the laser drilling 210 and the removal
process 230 are performed in different steps, the scope of this
application is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the
removal gas of the removal process 230 can be supplied during the
laser drilling process.
[0022] As described above in conjunction with FIG. 2A, the method
100 can optionally include coating a water soluble layer (not
shown) over the dielectric layers 203 and/or 205. As noted,
particles and/or debris generated from the laser drilling 210 may
be sputtered on the water soluble layer. In at least this
embodiment, the method 100 can include a process to remove the
water soluble layer with deionized water (DI water) so as to remove
particles and/or debris on the water soluble layer.
[0023] In some embodiments, during and/or after the removal process
220 at least one residual, e.g., residuals 223 may remain on the
sidewalls 215a of the TSV opening 215 as shown in FIG. 2C.
Referring to FIG. 2D, the method 100 can include a cleaning process
230 to clean the sidewalls 215a of the TSV opening 215 with a
chemical by substantially removing the residual 223 (shown in FIG.
2C). For example, the residuals 233 may be halogen-containing
residuals. In some embodiments, the chemical of the cleaning
process 230 can include a first component that is substantially
inactive with the material of the substrate 201 and a second
component that is substantially active with the halogen component
of the halogen-containing chemical. In other embodiments, the first
component is selected from a group consisting of helium, neon,
argon, krypton, xenon and radon, The second component comprises
hydride.
[0024] For example, the chemical of the removal process 220
includes XeF.sub.2. The chemical of the cleaning process 230
comprises xenon dihydride (XeH.sub.2). The xenon component of
XeH.sub.2 is substantially inactive with the material of the
substrate 201. The hydride component (H.sup.+) of XeH.sub.2 is
substantially active with florid component (F.sup.-) of XeF.sub.2.
The hydride component (H.sup.+) of XeH.sub.2actively interacts with
fluoride component (F.sup.-) of XeF.sub.2 to form hydrogen fluoride
(HF) than can be easily taken away during the cleaning process 230.
In some embodiments, the chemical of the cleaning process 230 can
have a flow rate of about 3 standard cubic centimeter per minute
(sccm) or more and a concentration of XeH.sub.2 of about 20% or
more by volume.
[0025] In some embodiments, after the cleaning process 230 a
conductive structure (not shown) can be formed in the TSV opening
215. In some embodiments, the conductive structure can include, for
example, a barrier material (e.g., titanium, titanium-nitride,
tantalum, tantalum-nitride, other barrier materials, and/or
combinations thereof), a conductive material (aluminum, copper,
aluminum-copper, polysilicon, other conductive material, and/or
combinations thereof), other material that are suitable for forming
the conductive structure, and/or any combinations thereof.
[0026] In an embodiment of the application, a method of forming a
through-silicon-via (TSV) opening includes forming a TSV opening
through a substrate. A recast of a material of the substrate on
sidewalls of the TSV opening is removed with a first chemical. The
sidewalls of the TSV opening are cleaned with a second chemical by
substantially removing a residue of the first chemical.
[0027] The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so
that those skilled in the art may better understand the aspects of
the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art should appreciate
that they may readily use the present disclosure as a basis for
designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying
out the same purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the
embodiments introduced herein. Those skilled in the art should also
realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the
spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and that they may make
various changes, substitutions, and alterations herein without
departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
* * * * *